Tornado, Ottawa
- When
- April 3, 4:05 PM CST
- Where
- Ottawa County
- Rating
- F3
- Path length
- 21.2 mi
- Path width
- 200 yd
- Property damage
- $2.5 million
- Coordinates
- 42.530, -85.830
Tornadoes in Michigan, April 3, 1956
12 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 20
- Injuries
- 376
- Property damage
- $14 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 12
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
Event by event
12 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Tornado, Manistee
- When
- April 3, 5:35 PM CST
- Where
- Manistee County
- Rating
- F4
- Path length
- 12.5 mi
- Path width
- 400 yd
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 44.370, -86.230
Tornado, Allegan
- When
- April 3, 5:45 PM CST
- Where
- Allegan County
- Rating
- F5
- Path length
- 13.5 mi
- Path width
- 400 yd
- Injuries
- 10 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 42.670, -86.220
Tornado, Benzie
- When
- April 3, 5:55 PM CST
- Where
- Benzie County
- Rating
- F4
- Path length
- 19.4 mi
- Path width
- 400 yd
- Deaths
- 2 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 24 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 44.520, -86.080
Tornado, Ottawa
- When
- April 3, 5:55 PM CST
- Where
- Ottawa County
- Rating
- F5
- Path length
- 15.1 mi
- Path width
- 400 yd
- Deaths
- 14 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 200 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 42.770, -85.980
Tornado, Van Buren
- When
- April 3, 6:15 PM CST
- Where
- Van Buren County
- Rating
- F3
- Path length
- 12 mi
- Path width
- 200 yd
- Injuries
- 9 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $2.5 million
- Coordinates
- 42.270, -86.130
Tornado, Grand Traverse
- When
- April 3, 6:15 PM CST
- Where
- Grand Traverse County
- Rating
- F4
- Path length
- 15.4 mi
- Path width
- 400 yd
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 44.720, -85.800
Tornado, Kent
- When
- April 3, 6:15 PM CST
- Where
- Kent County
- Rating
- F5
- Path length
- 33.8 mi
- Path width
- 400 yd
- Deaths
- 4 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 130 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 42.930, -85.780
Tornado, Van Buren
- When
- April 3, 6:39 PM CST
- Where
- Van Buren County
- Rating
- F3
- Path length
- 2.3 mi
- Path width
- 200 yd
- Property damage
- $2.5 million
- Coordinates
- 42.380, -85.950
Tornado, Allegan
- When
- April 3, 6:45 PM CST
- Where
- Allegan County
- Rating
- F3
- Path length
- 8.3 mi
- Path width
- 200 yd
- Injuries
- 3 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $2.5 million
- Coordinates
- 42.430, -85.930
Tornado, Montcalm
- When
- April 3, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Montcalm County
- Rating
- F5
- Path length
- 1.9 mi
- Path width
- 400 yd
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 43.300, -85.330
Tornado, Barry
- When
- April 3, 7:45 PM CST
- Where
- Barry County
- Rating
- F3
- Path length
- 12.6 mi
- Path width
- 200 yd
- Property damage
- $2.5 million
- Coordinates
- 42.750, -85.530
What these are
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Hail in Wisconsin, April 3, 1956
- Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in Tennessee, April 3, 1956
- Tornadoes in Oklahoma, April 3, 1956
- Tornadoes in Kansas, April 3, 1956
- Tornadoes in Missouri, April 3, 1956
- Tornadoes in Kentucky, April 3, 1956
- Tornadoes in Indiana, April 3, 1956
- Tornadoes in Mississippi, April 3, 1956
- Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in Illinois, April 3, 1956
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, April 3, 1956
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in Ohio, April 3, 1956
- Damaging Wind in Alabama, April 3, 1956
More
Every storm in Michigan in 1956Every state in 1956This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Michigan, 1956
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10040543, 10040544, 10040545, 10040546, 10040547, 10040548, 10040549, 10040550, 10040551, 10040552, 10040553, 10040554.